1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method for improving the glass-making process.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Glass is now made in commercial quantities, by introducing glass-forming materials into an apparatus known as a furnace which is likely to hold up to about 240 tons of molten glass, quantities of heat are added to the glass to bring the glass-forming materials to a molten state; additional batch material is fed onto the surface of already molten glass within the furnace, where it floats on the top of the molten glass; and the batch material is gradually melted into the molten mass of glass in the furnace. Physical action and chemical reactions during the heating of the molten mass of glass in the furnace lead to the generation of "gaseous inclusions". These gaseous inclusions are then removed from the molten glass mass by continued heating of the mass in the furnace for periods ranging from 24 to 36 hours. The rate of processing of glass in a prior art furnace is very slow due to the time required to remove the gaseous inclusions formed during the melting process, and accordingly among the objects of the invention are to provide a process wherein the melting, mixing, and homogenizing of the batch glass-forming materials are optimized, over a short process residence time, and in a small volumetric area furnace, to provide a glass having both reduced numbers of undesirable gaseous inclusions, and a change in size distribution of gaseous inclusions.
Thus, a further object of the invention is to provide a method for rapidly melting and refining glass wherein large quantities of molten glass may be prepared by vigorously and continously melting glass forming material, densifying the molten glass and then refining this densified glass in a centrifugal refiner to remove small-sized gaseous inclusions from the glass to produce a glass wherein the homogeneity of the glass is controlled and maximized in terms of the desired end uses.